'The Worst Thing That Could Happen to Me Happened'

Amber Heard says Johnny Depp first slapped her early in their relationship
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 4, 2022 5:46 PM CDT
Amber Heard Takes the Stand
Amber Heard testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Va., Wednesday May 4, 2022.   (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)

Amber Heard took the stand for the first time in Johnny Depp's defamation lawsuit against her Wednesday and recounted numerous alleged assaults, starting in late 2011, soon after they began dating. Heard said Depp slapped her when she asked about one of his tattoos while they were drinking together and laughed when he told her it said "Wino." "I will never forget it, it changed my life," Heard said, per Deadline. "I laughed, I thought he was joking and he slapped me across the face." She said he slapped her twice more, and "I'm all of a sudden realizing that the worst thing that could happen to me happened."

Heard, 36, told jurors there was chemistry between her and Depp during the filming of The Rum Diary and they fell in love despite the 22-year age difference. She said she knew she should have left him after the first time he hit her but she couldn't do it, the AP reports. “I knew I couldn't just forgive him, right, because that means it will happen again," she said. "Like, I've seen the health class videos." She said she forgave Depp a few days later when he tearfully apologized and said it would never happen again. "I wanted to believe him, so I stayed," Heard said. "I believed there was a line and he wouldn’t cross it again."

Heard went on to detail several more instances of alleged abuse in the following years. She said Depp sexually assaulted her with a "cavity search" after accusing another woman of flirting with her in 2013. "I just stood there looking at the light," she said. "I didn't say stop or anything." Heard, who was frequently in tears during her testimony, will return to the stand on Thursday. Deadline reports that Depp, who has denied assaulting Heard and says the tattoo incident "never happened," scribbled on a pad and did not look at his ex-wife as she testified. (More Johnny Depp stories.)

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